A Place to Call Home
by chosenofmarkov
Summary: Avacyn Blair is a schoolteacher in a small Oklahoma town. Sorin Markov lives the high life as an executive in Houston. The two meet when a tragic accident thrusts Sorin into the life of a child he never knew he had. Modern AU, all human. Sorin/Avacyn, Jace/Liliana, Thalia/OC
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: Hi everyone! This story is the result of a rather unexpected plot bunny. I just couldn't let go of it, so here it is. It is meant to be very lighthearted and fluffy (maybe even cheesy at times!) and I thought it would be a fun thing to write alongside Breaking. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this story! _

* * *

**Prologue**

Sirens screamed all around him. The clouds above him danced and spun a wicked promenade. His hands shook and his heart pounded faster than the rain that gushed from the sky.

He thrust the key into the ignition and twisted. The engine came to life, a roar dulled by the hail relentlessly slamming his hood and windshield.

And then, as other cars streaked past his in a desperate attempt to escape, he spun his car around and drove towards the storm as quickly as he could.


	2. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Hi everyone! I'm sorry that I am just now getting this chapter uploaded. It was supposed to follow on the heels of the prologue, but this has been an incredibly busy week for me. The second chapter is largely written already, so hopefully you will see it sometime this weekend. This is the heaviest of it all; it will turn cheesy and lighthearted soon, I assure! Thank you all again for reading and I hope you enjoy!_

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"All right, who's ready for story time?"

A symphony of cheers and excited noises answered Avacyn. She grinned. She loved every moment her job had to offer, but reading to and with the kids would have to be one of her favorites.

"It's your turn to pick, Max," she said to a skinny, blond boy. He smiled so broadly she wasn't sure his face could hold it all. He scampered off to the book shelf while her other first graders scrambled to claim their spots on the reading rug, a rainbow circle of letters and animals to correspond with each of them. They fussed quietly amongst themselves for their seats, most of them straining to sit as close to their teacher as they possibly could.

Avacyn positioned herself cross-legged on the floor, her long, white skirt falling over her knees. She smiled as Max came sprinting back to her with his book of choice, then plopped down directly in front of her. It wasn't exactly part of the circle, but she certainly wasn't going to nitpick.

She turned the book over in her hands and couldn't help but laugh softly at the fuzzy, green caterpillar that took up most of the cover. They had already read _The Very Hungry Caterpillar_ at least three times this week. Avacyn cleared her throat with exaggerated loudness, a cue that her charge of six- and seven-year-olds knew meant story time was about to begin.

"In the light of the moon, a little egg lay on a—"

A hand rapped against the classroom door, startling Avacyn; the book tumbled into her lap. She glanced over her shoulder to see Elspeth Tirel, school principal and childhood friend, peeking through the glass near the top of the door. Her bright face was startlingly grim, her soft eyes unusually urgent.

Avacyn set the book aside and rose to her full height, hurrying to the doorway. Her heart pounded so frantically she was sure her whole classroom could hear it.

Was it her father? He was hardly in his 60s, but his health had failed him more than once already. What about Thalia? Her baby sister, her best friend, was six months pregnant with twin girls. What if something had happened to her or the babies? Then there was her nephew, and her brother-in-law…

"Elspeth—" Avacyn's voice came out like a desperate prayer.

"It's not yours," her old friend whispered, her eyes gazing over the group of children that still sat in their semi-circle on the brightly-colored rug. They knew something was happening. Their chatter had stopped, and all sets of eyes were glued on the two women.

Elspeth grimaced and swung the door open wide, wordlessly beckoning Avacyn into the hall. Avacyn looked back at her students with a small smile, a silent promise that she would be right back, that she was just outside the door and everything was OK.

Only it wasn't.

"I just received a phone call that Genevieve Voldaren's mother was killed in a car accident this morning."

Avacyn felt the color leave her face and the breath from her lips. "Oh God," she whispered, cupping her mouth with one of her hands.

Olivia Voldaren was far from her favorite parent. She had moved to Newcastle just a few years back, a redheaded miniature of herself in tow. Avacyn didn't know her whole story. She mostly kept to herself, and even the parent-teacher meetings Avacyn had with her were typically short and sweet.

Genevieve, though, was one of Avacyn's favorites, the kind of favorite that teachers really weren't _supposed_ to have but couldn't help from getting anyway. The little girl with the big name, Genevieve was everything you wouldn't expect out of a fiery-looking redhead. She was sweet and quiet, with a love of animals and reading. She loved drawing the most, however, and for her young age she was already quite good with paper and a pencil.

"What's going to happen to Genevieve?" Avacyn whispered weakly. To her knowledge, she had no other family, at least not here. It wasn't hard to gather that her father wasn't in the picture. Whenever she tried to ask Olivia about his involvement in his daughter's life, the mother would just snap back at her. When it came time for the kids to make crafts for their dads, Genevieve would sit quietly at her desk and work on coloring in her latest picture instead.

"The authorities are trying to track down her father now," Elspeth said softly. "His name is in her file but not much else."

"What do I need to do?"

"If you could take her to Sigarda," Elspeth said, and Avacyn bobbed her head in reply. Sigarda was the school counselor. She was a kind woman with a heart as big as the treasure chest of toys and candy she kept in her office for the kids. "You can stay with her, everyone knows how much she adores you. You can help her more than I can. I will watch these little ones."

"All right." Avacyn placed a shaking hand on the classroom door and forced it open. "Genevieve honey," she called in the calmest voice she could muster. "Can you come with me for a few minutes?"

Genevieve's light brown eyes lit up at the sound of her name. They reminded Avacyn of twin topazes, wide and sparkling on her pale, freckled face. "Yes Miss Blair," she said in that angel soft voice of hers, and Avacyn felt her heart begin to strain. Genevieve pushed herself off of the floor and walked to her teacher's side.

Avacyn made herself to smile as she took one of Genevieve's tiny hands within her own. She and Elspeth shared a knowing glance as they traded positions.

And then, her heart heavy, Avacyn started down the hallway, her hand tightly gripping the little girl's whose life was about to change forever.

* * *

Words were tossed around in that room that Genevieve strained to understand. Things that were said to help comfort her, like talk of heaven and angels, only confused her more. She was just too young to understand, too small to grapple with the idea of life without her mother.

Avacyn remembered it all with painful clarity. She lost her mother at a young age, too. Although she was a little older than Genevieve was now, it didn't make comprehending it all any less dizzying.

Genevieve was strong, though, impossibly so. She finally asked Avacyn and Sigarda if it was like her mommy was sleeping, but she couldn't wake up. Sigarda tried to skirt around it, but Avacyn held her tight in her arms and with tears of her own threatening to fall, told her that was exactly what it was like.

They waited in the school office after, after Sigarda ran out of words to offer and Genevieve out of a voice to speak with. Avacyn wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed; it felt like minutes and hours all at once. She held Genevieve close to her, whispering what little she could in reassurance, wiping away at her tears and combing her fingers through her rosy hair.

The school day wasn't quite finished when Elspeth joined them in the front room, a cell phone tightly grasped in her hand.

"They found her father," she said softly, though even her strong voice faltered at the sight of the little girl tucked into her teacher's embrace, her whole face red and wet with tears. "He's on his way from Houston. The flights were all booked, so he's driving. Avacyn, do you want me to—"

"No," Avacyn cut her off before she could finish. "I'll wait with her. I won't leave her."


End file.
